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Lord Darkar is the main antagonist of Season 2 and is also known as the Prince of Darkness and the Shadow Phoenix. He has also been referred to as Argulus in the 4Kids version. He has only appeared in Season 2, but makes a few cameo appearances in Season 3 and Season 4, and the Season 5 trailer.
Appearance
Darkar looks glowing red and wears armor over his seemingly skeletal body. He also has torn, red glowing fabric on the back of him. It is not possible to see his eyes during the show but they occasionally glow like fire with small pupils or they momentarily lightens with a red spark.
Forms
- Phoenix
- Snake
- Humanoid Disguise (Nickelodeon version only)
Overview
Darkar transforming into phoenix form.
Lord Darkar is an ancient deity of pure darkness who was born in the void from before the beginning of the universe and who is the polar opposite of the Great Dragon. Therefore, while the Great Dragon is a source of light, life and energy, and represents Good, Lord Darkar absorbs energy and is the incarnation of Evil.
It is also stated that he was the master of the Ancestral Witches and Valtor, and was the one who initially sent them to seek the Dragon's Flame from Domino, therefore being the cause of its destruction, as well as the ultimate cause of most of the events taking place in the first 3 Seasons and the 2 Movies and, indirectly, the events in Season 4 since the Winx came to Earth after the Wizards attacked Bloom thinking, that she was the last Earth Fairy, having sensed her fairy energy in Gardenia, where she had been sent because Domino was destroyed on Darkar's orders.
Pre-Series
Lord Darkar was formed at the beginning of time, when all things were created, along with his polar opposite, the Great Dragon.
At some point, the Ancestresses became his servants, though it is unknown how and when this happened. Given that the Ancestral Witches have been called the "First Creatures of Evil" and that Darkar himself is Evil personified, there might be a possibility that he was responsible for the creation of the three ancient Witches.
The three witches found a spark of the Dragon Flame which had mixed with the darkness, and shaped it into a man they named Valtor, brought him up and sent him to conquer the Magic Dimension. Given that Lord Darkar is darkness personified, it is possible that this dark spark consisted of the power of the Great Dragon mixed with that of the Shadow Phoenix.
Some time before the destruction of Domino, Lord Darkar tasked the Ancestral Witches to acquire the Dragon Flame, which he needed to obtain the Ultimate Power of the Relix Dimension, and King Oritel and Queen Marion of Domino formed the Company of Light, a group of magical warriors, to fight against the Witches.
The Witches therefore attacked Domino to obtain the power of the Dragon, but the Princess Daphne was able to prevent this from happening by sending the current keeper of the Dragon's Flame, her baby sister Bloom, to a distant place where the Witches would never find her. The Witches were themselves defeated by the Company of Light and imprisoned in the Realm of Obsidian while Valtor was imprisoned on the Omega Dimension. However all the inhabitants of Domino, including King Oritel and Queen Marion, became trapped on Obsidian and all of planet Domino became frozen during the final battle during which the Company of Light defeated the Ancestral Witches.
When the Witches were defeated by the Company of Light, the Lord of the Templar of the Fortress of Light fought Darkar himself, cast him back into the darkness, and sent him into a deep slumber for sixteen years, until he woke up again, possibly caused by the return of Bloom's Dragon's Flame in the Magic Dimension after she used it to defeat the Trix in the first season, since his power is opposite to that of the Dragon's.
This also means that Valtor was also serving the Shadow Phoenix at this time, meaning that Lord Darkar already had someone with the Dragon Flame serving him, and the only explanation that can be given to his causing the destruction of Domino is that Valtor's Dragon Flame was the Dark part of the flame which was created when a spark from the Dragon's fiery breath had mixed with the Darkness (possibly itself having being created from Lord Darkar's power, since it was stated that both Lord Darkar and the Great dragon were born at the beginning of Time from the Void), and therefore was halfway between the powers of Light and those of Darkness. Darkar needed a power which was the complete opposite to his own power to create a balance between Light and Darkness in order to summon and acquire the Ultimate Power from the Realm of Relix, and the pure Dragon Fire of the Royal Family of Domino was what he needed.
It can also be supposed that Mandragora was also serving Darkar, since she was herself the servant of the Ancestresses who were themselves Darkar's servants. Moreover, from the reactions of members of the Company of Light in the first movie it can be guessed that they had already fought Mandragora when the Company had recently been formed, around the time of the destruction of Domino and hence that she had probably taken part in the destruction of Domino, which was done under Darkar's orders.
Series
Darkar drops Aisha.
Darkar's ambition is to capture the Ultimate Power of the Relix. However, the portal to the Relix realm can only be opened by the four pieces of the Codex, however there is one in each of the schools; Red Fountain, Alfea, Cloud Tower, and in Pixie Village. He holds the pixies hostage to get them to reveal the location of the Pixie Village, but they refused to do so. The princess of Andros, Aisha, despite her best efforts, could not save them. She then got the Winx's help when they rescued her. Unfortunately, Darkar also got help from the Trix. He did this by releasing the Trix from the Fortress of Light (Roccaluce) to assist him in his quest and gave them Gloomix power.
After he obtained two of the four pieces, he made the fake Avalon that he had sent to Alfea to put a shadow virus on Bloom to turn her into Dark Bloom. Darkar then used her as his puppet to get Alfea's piece of the Codex. He obtained the final piece of the Codex when he sent Icy after Livy to get Pixie Village's part of the Codex. Icy succeeded with the help of her sisters, Darcy and Stormy.
Darkar absorbing the Power.
He then ordered Avalon's shadow clone to abduct Bloom and when she was in his castle, he cast the Shadow Spell on Bloom again and used her and her Dragon Flame, since he needed a power of Light to counter his power of Darkness, to open the Portal to Relix. But when the Trix confronted him, saying they did all the work, he told them that they had only been his pawns and were now useless to him and sent them to the Dark Void: Oblivion. He almost succeeded in gaining the Ultimate Power of Relix, but as he was absorbing the power, Sky told Bloom that he loved her and the love for him in her heart caused her to use her healing power on herself and the others and broke the Shadow Spell as well as destroying the Power.
Darkar is finally defeated.
He was mentioned in a few episodes. First in "The Heart and the Sword", Vanessa tells Bloom when Darkar had placed her under a dark spell and Sky confessed his love for Bloom to save her.
Then in "Alfea Under Siege" when Stormy suggests to Valtor about setting up quarters at Darkar's Fortress when he was not satisfied with his hideout in Andros anymore.
And lastly, in "Wizard's Anger" when Icy complains to Darcy and Stormy about how they get abused by Darkar and then Valtor.
In the first episode of the season, a portrait of Lord Darkar is seen alongside one of the Trix, Valtor and the Wizards of the Black Circle within a section of the Hall of Enchantments reserved for keeping record of all the Magic Dimension's greatest threats.
Specials
Darkar drops Aisha.
Darkar has kidnapped the Pixies from their village and tortured them for the location of the Codex. He had also captured Aisha who escaped but returned to rescue her Pixie friends. Darkar is aware of this and sends his minions to recapture them all but when they fail, Darkar takes the matter into his own hands.
He confronts a worn out Aisha at the entrance of his domain and asks Aisha to return the Pixies to him. When she refuses he forcibly strikes her and take back the Pixies. He finds it foolish when Aisha fights back, who claims that "a fairy never gives up without a fight!", bemused he levitates her over the edge of his castle and drops her.
Once he re-imprisons the Pixies, he locates the Trix, free them from their imprisonment at Lightrock Monastery so that they can serve as his servants. He gives them their Gloomix powers and orders their assists in retrieving the Codex from Pixie Village. He decides to first use the Winx to help him and spies on them again; he learns that Bloom, Stella and Aisha will try to sneak into his domain again to rescue the Pixies. He sends the Trix to greet them.
Once the Trix had done their part, he swoops in to "save" the fairies from the Trix disguised as a paladin. He bows to them and flies away, leaving the fairies impressed. And in a timely manner, he sets the Pixies free as well.
The next day, he is at Alfea and is introduced by Faragonda to the Winx as their newest faculty staff, Professor Avalon. While there, he gains their trust, allowing him to carry his plan without raising suspicion. He then uses one of the potion rooms to secretly create a homesickness spell and place it on the Pixies (who were unable to return home as they knew it would lead him to their village). The spell worked and Darkar sends Icy to follow the Pixies and succeeds in retrieving the Codex.
Darkar is defeated.
His next agenda: kidnap Bloom. As she is the Keeper of the Dragon's Flame, she is the key to unlocking the Ultimate Power found in the Crystal of Power. As Avalon, he tricks her to enter a trap bubble. With her in it, it teleports them to his domain where he turns her into Dark Bloom. After he opens the portal to Relix, the Trix confront him for using them to distract Bloom's friends and not giving them their share of the ultimate power. He is amused that they trusted him and sends them back to their prison. He then enters Relix with Dark Bloom and while she chants the incantation, they are interrupted by Stella, Aisha, Tecna, Musa and Flora.
Dark Bloom has to restart the incantation chant and while she does so, Darkar deals with her friends and then the Specialists. He suspends their movement and after the Crystal is summoned he transforms into his phoenix form and begins absorbing its power. He calls Sky a fool when he tries to reach Bloom by confessing his feelings for her. When Sky faints, Darkar laughs and continues absorbing the power until he realizes that Bloom is returning normal. He is prevented from absorbing any more power once Bloom returns the Crystal to the Relix.
Angered, he strikes them but is blocked by Griffin and Faragonda's barrier while the Winx converge their powers and destroy him once and for all.Games
Season 2
In both "Winx Club: Quest for the Codex" and "Winx Club: Join the Club," in Relix, the Winx battle Darkar in his phoenix form and destroy him once and for all.
Magical Abilities
Darkar's most common method of spying.
Lord Darkar is capable of creating his own army of shadow monsters and even shadow clones of people like he does with Avalon. He also turned Bloom into Dark Bloom by using his dark magic/energy. He can fire powerful dark energy beams and create energy shields, and energy bubbles to confine the pixies.
Darkar also has demonstrated the power to summon, create, control and/or manipulate darkness and/or shadows to his own whim and desire like creating barriers, beams of energy or blasts of power, and the power to transform into a giant phoenix-like creature as well as disguise himself. In addition to his magic powers, he has long, razor-sharp claws that deal large damage.
The difference between Lord Darkar's power and that of the Water Stars which also oppose the power of the Dragon is that, while Lord Darkar's power absorbs energy and the Dragon's power generates energy and with respect to each other, the former is Evil and the latter is Good, both the Dragon Flame and the Water Stars generate energy, but the energy released by each respectively is of opposing nature and neutral, none being Evil or Good with respect to each other.
Trivia
- Lord Darkar is the first male villain in the whole Winx Universe.
- He is also the first main villain to die.
- It can, however, be questioned whether Lord Darkar is really dead or not since, in Up To Their Old Trix, Professor Wizgiz said that everything needs to have an equal opposite to continue existing and to maintain the balance of the Universe, and that a power's opposite is automatically created along with itself. This means that the Shadow Phoenix and the Great Dragon were born at the same time and that they also need each other to counter each other's powers and maintain the balance of the Universe. It could be that Lord Darkar is still alive, imprisoned in the Relix Dimension, or it could also be that he effectively died, but that his power or his essence still exists, but in a disembodied form, maintaining the balance of the Magic Dimension by countering the power of the Dragon Fire (similar to the Great Dragon: while the Dragon itself no longer exists, its power still exists in the disembodied form of the Dragon Flame which has been passed down through generations of the Royal Family of Domino). If so, his disembodied essence was likely sealed in Oblivion or in the Relix Dimension.
- According to the 4Kids continuity, he was once a man named Argulus seeking the Shadow Fire, and stumbled across Darkar's Fortress (Shadowhaunt), the underground castle. Darkar took control of the Shadow Fire. The Shadow Fire obeyed his will and was his servant.
- Ogron's ability to absorb the Fairies' powers is slightly similar to Darkar's ability to absorb all energy. The Wizards turning Mitzi and her friends in Season 4 is also similar to how Darkar gave the Gloomix to the Trix and how he turned Bloom into Dark Bloom. Ogron's red hair and Darkar's red color also increases this similarity.
- Lord Darkar is a typical Dark Lord, having the same personality as well as all the attributes of most fictional Dark Lords.
- His appearance is similar to that of Sauron and Morgoth in the The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion books of J.R.R. Tolkien, especially to how Sauron appeared in the The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring movie adaptation, wearing/his body being like a dark armor. Even Darkar's role in Winx Club is somewhat similar to that of Morgoth and of Sauron in the world of Tolkien in the following ways:
- In the Cinélume Version, Darkar caused the destruction of Domino by sending his servers, the Ancestral Witches there to claim the Dragon Fire, just like Morgoth caused the destruction of the Realms of the Elves and of Men in The Silmarillion, and Sauron caused the Downfall of Númenor in The Silmarillion by corrupting the minds of the people of that Kingdom.
- Darkar's ability to change his appearance recalls the ability of both Morgoth and Sauron to transform themselves at will.
- The Gloomix that Darkar gave the Trix also recalls the Rings of Power that Sauron gave to the different peoples of Middle-earth to make them stronger, but to turn them into his slaves as well.
- Darkar's servers, the Ancestral Witches somewhat resemble the Nazgûl as they appeared in the Lord of the Rings books and films: once powerful and made of flesh and bones like everyone else, but later becoming wraiths (the bodies of the Ancestresses apparently perished during their imprisonment in Obsidian, and were bound to continue existing in a ghost-like appearance).
- Darkar is also very similar to Unicron, one of the main antagonists of the Transformers franchise.
- Unicron is an ancient evil God of Chaos who originated at the dawn of the universe and whose goal is to consume the whole universe until there is nothing left around him except the void.
- Similarly, Darkar is an ancient maleficent deity who originated from the void before the creation of the Magic Dimension and who absorbs and consumes all energy.
- Unicron's twin brother is Primus, who is also his opposite, with Unicron representing evil and chaos while Primus represents good and order, and their continued existence is necessary for the stability of the universe. Primus later became the planet of Cybertron, the home world of the Transformers, and his name is invoked religiously by both the Autobot and the Decepticon factions of the Transformers.
- Similarly, Darkar's equal and opposite is the Great Dragon, with Darkar representing evil and darkness while the Great Dragon represents good and light, and Professor Wizgiz implied in Season 2 that their continued existence is necessary for the balance of the universe. The Great Dragon later went to rest on the planet of Domino, and it is invoked with high respect by both the Fairies and the Witches.
- Both Unicron and Darkar make deals with less powerful beings, giving them great power in exchange for their servitude
- Unicron has sent his heralds to attack Cybertron so he can destroy the Matrix of Leadership, which contains the essence of Primus, the only thing which stands in Unicron's way.
- Darkar similarly sent his servants to attack Domino so he can obtain the essence of the Great Dragon
- Both Darkar and Unicron have the ability to change their appearance and both have at least one robot-like form.
- Darkseid from DC Comics, especially the version of Darkseid from the DC Animated Universe.
- Darkseid is an ancient God of Evil whose goal is to acquire a power called the Anti-Life Equation which will allow him to rule the whole Universe.
- Darkar is an ancient deity of evil whose goal is to acquire the Ultimate Power of the Relix Dimension which will allow him to rule the whole Universe.
- In the "Legacy" episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, Darkseid temporarily brainwashes Superman and turns him evil.
- In Season 2, similarly, Darkar temporarily captured Bloom and turned her evil.
- Lord Darkar's methods of acquiring the Ultimate Power from the Relix Realm is very similar to Arkham's methods of acquiring the power of the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda from the Demon World in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening.
- His appearance is similar to that of Sauron and Morgoth in the The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion books of J.R.R. Tolkien, especially to how Sauron appeared in the The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring movie adaptation, wearing/his body being like a dark armor. Even Darkar's role in Winx Club is somewhat similar to that of Morgoth and of Sauron in the world of Tolkien in the following ways:
- As an evil deity and the opposite of the Great Dragon, who is the benevolent and life-giving creator deity of the Magic Dimension, Lord Darkar is also similar to and might also have been inspired by the Christian Devil.
- A reference to this might be when Darkar tells the Trix that they belong to him after he gives them the Gloomix and frees them from Lightrock Monastery. This is similar to the myth of the deal with the Devil, where a person sells their soul to the Devil in exchange of favors like power and riches.
- Another reference might be the underground location of Darkar's fortress, which reflects the popular view that the Devil's realm, Hell, is located deep under the earth.
- The Phoenix is a supernatural bird found in many legends from across the world.
- In Chinese Mythology, the Phoenix is a legendary bird symbolizing virtue and grace and which is associated with royalty. Its counterpart is the Chinese Dragon and the pairing of the Phoenix and the Dragon in Chinese tradition is said to represent the Yin and Yang.
- Professor Wizgiz similarly said in one of his classes that good energy and evil energy exist in a balance similar to the Yin and the Yang. This was possibly a suggestion that the powers of the Shadow Phoenix and the Fire Dragon exist in complete balance like the Yin and the Yang.
- In Greek Mythology, the Phoenix is an extremely long-lived bird that, when its life draws to a close, builds a nest of spices where it burns itself and is then reborn as a young version of itself from its own ashes. Unlike the Chinese Phoenix, the Greek Phoenix is not associated with dragons.
- In Chinese Mythology, the Phoenix is a legendary bird symbolizing virtue and grace and which is associated with royalty. Its counterpart is the Chinese Dragon and the pairing of the Phoenix and the Dragon in Chinese tradition is said to represent the Yin and Yang.
- Each time Lord Darkar uses his powers, dark red symbols can be seen in the air around his spells. These symbols are letters from the Alphabet of the Magi, which was used by practitioners of the occult for inscriptions in talismans in the 17th century.
- Lord Darkar is the most powerful villain in the Magic Dimension
- Faragonda called Lord Darkar "The Prince of the Darkness" in the original series. But in the fourth Winx Club special, she only refers to him as "the Shadow Phoenix".
- In Season 1 Darcy said that the level of dark energy in Riven was equal to that of the "Prince of Darkness". It is however unknown whether the "Prince of Darkness" she was referring to was Lord Darkar or not, maybe it was just a metaphor used by her to describe Riven's character.
- In the original version, his servant disguised himself as Avalon, while in the Nickelodeon special, he himself was disguised as Avalon.
- Darkar was never seen during season 3 due to his death at the end of season 2. But he is mentioned in a few episodes. First in The Heart and the Sword when Vanessa tells Bloom when he placed her under a dark spell and Sky confessed his love for Bloom to save her, then in Alfea Under Siege when Stormy suggests to Valtor about setting up quarters at Darkar's Fortress when he was not satisfied with his hideout in Andros anymore, and finally in Wizard's Anger when Icy complains to Darcy and Stormy about how they get abused by Darkar and then Valtor. He is also seen in flashbacks to the final battle (mostly his tails as the Shadow Phoenix).
- A picture of him is also seen at the beginning of Season 4 along with pictures of the other villains, such as the Trix and Valtor.
- He is the first person to double-cross the Trix.
- Both he and Valtor are tied with having the least appearances in the Winx Club Comic Series compared to any other villain in the series.
- Darkar's 4Kids voice actor, Jason Griffith, is the voice actor for Ace, a character from World of Winx dubbed under DuArt.
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